The wind has been blowing a lot here lately. I don’t mean little meandering spring breezes, either. I mean genuine March wind! I hate the wind; I’ve said that before. It makes me feel restless and unsettled. The winds seem to be blowing in changes, almost as fast as the leaves skittering down the streets.

There have been many changes lately; maybe too many. It’s hard to keep up; tough to adjust my emotions so quickly. Some changes were chosen, while others chose me. Some changes will be for the better. Some will be for the worse. For still others, the final results may not be known for months or even years.

There have been old friends found, new friends made, and friends lost without warning. Some friendships, both old and new, have grown deeper. Some friends have drifted away. Some won’t return, and some others hopefully will. Some relationships turned out not to be what we thought, and some turned out to be much more.

It’s nice to have reconnected with old friends, and to feel the comfort of people you know, who know where you came from and have known you a long time, and to whom you don’t have to explain all your little quirks and foibles. Friends who will remind you—and others—of the embarrassing things you’ve done that you’d long ago forgotten. Thanks a lot, David… And girlfriends who will tell you when the guy you’ve been mooning over is a loser. And tell you the things that you never knew back then.

And it’s interesting getting to know new friends—especially the ones that have more than one side—that makes them so much more fascinating. People with experiences, circumstances, and perspectives that are different from yours. Through their eyes, their opinions, their feelings—they can give you the opportunity to see life from places you’ve never been. Some of them want the same from you. Some of them will let you see into their hearts, and share their true selves with you.

Others won’t. Their goal, online or in person, is to hide their true selves; to refuse to be known. They are usually the ones that drift away, and disappear altogether.

As the wind continues to blow outside, I know that things will continue to change, no matter how I feel about it. Some things have already changed, and I have simply to accept it. Changes I can’t even imagine are yet to come, I’m sure. I’ll just have to wait and see what’s here when the wind dies down…